Nine soldiers were martyred and four others injured when a military helicopter crashed Thursday in eastern Turkey, according to the country's National Defense Ministry.

-As a result of the tragic accident, our nine heroic fellow soldiers in the helicopter were martyred and four others were injured- the ministry said in a statement.

The contact with the Cougar-type military helicopter, which took off from the eastern province of Bingol to Tatvan district at 1.55 PM[1055GMT], was cut off at 2.25 PM [1125GMT].

-The efforts are underway for the transfer of our injured personnel to the hospital- it said.